Connecting to Linux Computers Via VNC

VNC is currently not fuctional on our Ubuntu hosts. This includes the all of the instructional linux machines.

Instead, please see the docs for RDP

Users may connect to department Linux computers using a VNC (Virtual Network Computing) client. This connection method provides graphical login environment with the user’s desktop as it would appear logging in at the console of the computer. The session is destroyed, and running programs are terminated when the connection is closed.

VNC clients

Linux computers typically have a VNC client available, although it may not be installed by default. Software installation mechanisms vary greatly between different Linux distributions and are not all documented here for that reason. For Windows computers, we recommend the RealVNC VNC client. This VNC client is available at no charge from the RealVNC website.

VNC connection setup

You will need an SSH connection configured and open to the Linux computer you wish to connect to. You will also need to create local port forwarding entries for the SSH session. Examples:

Linux/Macintosh (command-line SSH client):

Add the following options to your ssh commandline:

-L6901:localhost:6901 -L6902:localhost:6902 -L6903:localhost:6903 -L6904:localhost:6904

Windows:

Add local port forwarding options to your SSH client. Examples:

SecureCRT port forwarding configuration

PuTTY port tunnelling configuration

NOTE: Windows clients may show an error when trying to connect:

This is normal and safe to accept the risk and continue. Although the VNC protocol is not encrypted, all VNC traffic is encrypted inside the SSH tunnel you have already established.